In a region awash with capital yet confronted by crises that threaten its most vulnerable, child malnutrition remains one of the starkest contradictions of our time. Deeply solvable, yet stubbornly persistent, nowhere is this paradox more apparent than in East Asia and the Pacific, a region of rising prosperity, but where millions of children still suffer the irreversible consequences of poor nutrition in their earliest years.

June Kunugi ( JK ), the regional director for East Asia and the Pacific at Unicef, the United Nations agency for children, is on the frontline of the organization’s response to this crisis. The Asset ( TA ) spoke with her on the sidelines of this year’s Philanthropy Asia Summit in Singapore. Her message was clear that the cost of inaction is staggering, both morally and economically, and the solutions demand more than goodwill.

She issued a call to Asia’s investors, sovereign wealth managers, and philanthropic leaders, that the time to act is now, and the dividends, for children, societies and economies, will be transformative.

From crisis to collaboration

TA: How is Unicef engaging with financial institutions or philanthropic capital in Asia to scale nutrition initiatives, particularly to meet the needs of children in East and South Asia?

JK: The East Asia and Pacific region is such a diverse region, with some of the fastest-growing economies in the world, yet also some of the world’s least-developed countries. Add to the fact that the region is at a disproportionately high risk for the negative impact of climate change, and you have a variety of challenges facing children, particularly when it comes to nutrition.

To tackle these challenges, we work with committed philanthropists, foundations and high-value partners in the region, in addition to governments and civil society.

To take a high-impact example: Unicef’s partnership with the Tanoto Foundation and the government of Indonesia, is focused on reducing child stunting. The government had set ambitious national targets which required a collaborative approach across sectors for the goals to succeed.

Stunting is a deeply complex issue – it touches on health, education, behaviour and nutrition – so multidisciplinary solutions are needed. That’s where our partner, the Tanoto Foundation came in. The foundation, with Belinda Tanoto as a member of the Unicef International Council, was able to make a significant contribution at scale, focusing on awareness-raising and community engagement to ensure communities have the capacity to complement government investment on quality nutrition services by practicing appropriate feeding and care at household level.

Together, we identified a major gap: the need for preventative education to stop stunting before it begins.

Unicef, alongside its partners, supported the government in developing a programme that has now reached over 3 million pregnant women and caregivers of children under age two; and helped train more than 10,000 health workers and community volunteers.

In this partnership, Unicef played the role that we often play: the bridge between private expertise and public scale. Already, 45% of districts in the target areas are implementing district-level preventative education strategies. A national awareness campaign, supported by Unicef and the Tanoto Foundation, has reached over 12 million people.

Between 2021 and 2024, Indonesia’s stunting rate dropped from 24.4% to 19.8%, with thanks to Indonesia’s sustained efforts and investments in this agenda. We are confident that this collaboration has also made a significant contribution to this success.

This is a great example of how multi-stakeholder partnerships can deliver real, tangible results for children.

Making economic case

TA: Given the strong return of investment of US$23 per US$1 invested in child nutrition, how is Unicef making that investment case compelling to Asian family offices, development finance institutions or sovereign funds?

JK: To first give some context as to why addressing child malnutrition is such a high priority for us in the region – in East Asia and the Pacific, 19 million children under five still suffer the consequences of chronic undernutrition, with an alarming 1.5 million children severely wasted, a life-threatening condition that drastically increases the risk of developmental delays and early death. This shows that we need to scale up current efforts.

After all, nutrition is not just a health issue, it’s the foundation for health, human capital and economic growth. The first 1,000 days of life, from conception to a child’s second birthday, represent a critical window for brain development, physical growth and immune system strength.

From an economic perspective, investing in child nutrition is one of the smartest investments in international development. As you mentioned, for every US$1 invested in child nutrition there is a US$23 return. This return comes through better health, improved learning outcomes and increased productivity. Given the links between food systems, nutrition and climate change, investments in nutrition can also provide important climate co-benefits.

Over the next decade, global investments in nutrition have the potential to yield US$2.4 trillion in economic gains. These are not just numbers: they are lives changed, futures protected and economies strengthened.

Unicef’s investment case is grounded in systems thinking and strong public-private partnerships. We work with governments to embed nutrition into national development plans, ensuring that financing is catalytic, scalable, and sustainable. Our strength lies in partnering with actors who are committed to unlocking capital at scale, including philanthropists, foundations, sovereign funds, DFIs [development finance institutes] and the private sector.

A key example of this collaboration is the Child Nutrition Fund ( CNF ), a global platform co-led by Unicef in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, CIFF, and the UK’s FCDO. CNF isn’t just a fund; it’s an engine for driving policy alignment, financing reform and programmatic acceleration in the countries with the greatest need. Eleven countries across Asia are already engaged.

In March of this year, the CNF received a historic commitment up to US$500 million from the Bezos family, which will be matched one-to-one, unlocking up to a total of US$1billion for child nutrition. This rare co-investment opportunity means doubling impact while reducing risk exposure.

For DFIs looking to drive measurable impact aligned with SDG targets, the CNF offers an investable, evidence-based solution that delivers both economic and social returns – transforming not only individual lives, but national trajectories.

Financing future

TA: Are there efforts underway to structure Unicef-led nutrition initiatives into investment vehicles that Asian investors can participate in, such as social impact bonds or development guarantees?

JK: While Unicef itself doesn’t issue investment vehicles like social impact bonds, we are actively engaging with partners, including development finance institutions and philanthropists, to explore financing mechanisms that align public good with private capital.

There is growing interest in structuring nutrition-focused initiatives in ways that allow Asian investors to participate, such as through co-investment models, development guarantees or partnerships with impact funds that seek both social return and financial accountability. The CNF provides a compelling framework for this approach.

As Unicef continues to work with actors across the financing ecosystem, including through our Supply Division and global procurement platform, we are exploring how catalytic capital can further de-risk investments, incentivize innovation, and unlock private sector participation in child nutrition at scale.

TA: How does Unicef balance the urgent need for grant-based support with the growing interest from Asia’s financial sector in outcome-linked or blended finance models?

JK: Unicef continues to prioritize grant-based funding for life-saving interventions and vulnerable populations where market-based models are not feasible, ensuring equity and access remain central. We also collaborate with the IFIs [international finance institutions] operating in the regions ( the Asian Development Bank, World Bank Islamic Development Bank and the European Investment Bank ), sovereign wealth funds and private investors to co-design or create outcome-linked and innovative finance models that align with child-related outcomes.

By using grant funding to absorb initial risk, Unicef catalyzes private capital flows into sectors like education, health and nutrition, especially in middle-income or transition countries in Asia. Through applying strong evaluation and results frameworks we ensure that outcome-linked financing mechanisms are both accountable and impactful, reinforcing investor confidence.

We also support governments in the region to design enabling policies and build institutional capacity for innovative finance, ensuring that the models complement, not replace, public financing for children.

TA: What are the biggest barriers you face in mobilizing regional capital toward early life nutrition, and how could partners in Asia’s finance community better support Unicef’s efforts?

JK: Nutrition is an area where we already have the knowledge, tools and evidence to make lasting progress. We know what we do works, because we have the results. Now it is simply the case to scale and act quickly, which is of course easier said than done, and requires resources.

Through the CNF, we’re focusing on key intervention areas that are proven to drive impact: from maternal nutrition to food fortification and early detection of child wasting. The challenge isn’t what to do, it’s mobilizing collective efforts to do it at scale. It is only through collective efforts and doubling down on nutrition that we can collectively achieve our ambitious results.

The CNF’s goal is bold: to reach over 320 million children and women globally, including more than 49 million in East Asia and the Pacific, and 158 million in South Asia every year with the nutrition services they need to survive and thrive. This fund offers a unique opportunity for partners to come together to end child undernutrition at scale.

It is imperative that we work together to unlock a healthier, more prosperous future for every child, contributing to maximizing human potential for the benefit of all.